The team at Diving The crab are now fully vaccinated

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As part of our ongoing commitment to providing you with a safe and top-quality diving experience, we’re delighted to announce that 100% of the team here at the Diving The Crab have been fully vaccinated for COVID 19.

Diving The Crab offers incredible diving all along Kenya’s famous Diani Beach, exploring the incredible coral reefs, wrecks and underwater formations that make up this beautiful area. Throughout the year divers can experience encounters with turtles, whale sharks many types of reef fish and pelagic plus, if they are very lucky spot humpback whales as they migrate through the region.

We will continue to follow the guidance and safety advice from the Ministry of Health, and to follow the COVID protocols we have in place at the dive center, that have enabled us to continue to provide excellent diving opportunities whilst also maintain the safety and wellbeing of our guests and team members.

Along with the team at the dive center, our partners at The Sands at Nomad, The Sands at Chale Island, Nomad Beach Bar & Restaurant, Lazy Days Private Beach House and the Thinking Green project have all also been fully vaccinated.

Scuba Diving Diani Beach Kenya

How to ID our Turtles

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Turtles are incredible creatures, and the waters off Diani Beach are a fantastic place to find them. During your dives with Diving the Crab you are likely to spot turtles on many of our sits, especially Galu, which has a famous turtle point, where divers can often see many turtles during a single dive.

With so many turtles living off the Kenyan coast, it is no surprise that the area is important for turtle research and Diving the Crab works with the Local Marine Education Centre to help monitor and protect the turtle population.

Each turtle can be identified by the unique facial scales found on either side of a turtle’s head. These, much like a human fingerprint, don’t change with age and when photographed can be used to help identify individual turtles. To date, the Marine Education Centre have identified 478 Green Sea Turtles and 62 Hawksbill turtles! They also monitored 72 nests across Diani Beach during 2020, ensuring the next generation of turtles has the best start possible.

Whilst it may be easy to tell one turtle from another based on their faces – to know if it is a male or female you need to look at their tail. In the world of turtles’ size does matter, and when trying to figure out the sex of a turtle, the males have much longer tails than the females.

So next time you go diving in Diani, pay close attention to the facial pattern and size of the turtles you encounter!

If you’d like to submit a turtle sighting, please contact the team at marinecenter@thesandskenya.com with the date and location of the sighting and, ideally, a photo.

Learn to dive in Kenya

Learn to dive in Kenya

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With warm water temperatures all year round, undamaged reefs, an abundance of fish life, an annual whaleshark migration as well as the chance of seeing dolphins and whales, Kenya’s southern coast offers some incredible scuba diving.

Not only for seasoned professionals, the waters of the Indian Ocean also offer the perfect environment for parents and children (aged 8 or above) to learn how to scuba dive or try diving for the first time. The dedicated, experienced and friendly team at Diving the Crab are here to help you embark on your diving adventure.

We have a full range of options to give diving a try:

1. Try dive in the pool

For you first breaths under the surface, guests at the Sands at Nomad boutique hotel on Diani Beach, or The Sands at Chale Island, can join our free of charge “Try Dive” at the pool. If you are unsure as to whether you are going to like the experience, this is the first step.

2. PADI Discover Scuba Diving
The PADI Discover Scuba Diving programme is a great introduction to life in the ocean – without having to sign up for a fully fledged course – and it’s suitable for the whole family (anyone aged 10 and above). During your dive on the reef you may be lucky and swim with one of the community of turtles that live around Diani Beach’s reefs. There is no study required, but also no certification at the end of the programme.

3. PADI Scuba Diver Course
For those with just a couple of days to spare, perhaps at the end of a safari break, this course is a good compromise. Once you have completed the first 3 theory sessions, 3 confined water dives and 2 open water dives at a local reef, you will be certified as a PADI Scuba Diver! This allows you to dive to a maximum depth of 12 metres with a PADI professionnal. You can then complete the PADI Open Water Diver course any time in the future.

4. PADI Open Water Course
This is the most popular diving course in the world, taking 3 to 4 days to complete. At the end of course, successful divers will be be able to dive with a certified buddy to a maximum depth of 18 metres.

If you want to save time on the theory parts of the course while on holiday, the PADI eLearning program allows online study, freeing up the time to do the dive sessions during your holiday in Kenya!

If you would like to find out more about learning to dive, and exploring the amazing reefs around our resorts, please contact us here.

A Macro Lover’s Dream Part 2

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As mentioned before, our unspoiled coral reefs are a Macro Lover’s Dream. Our sites are swarmed with creatures of lesser stature that master the technique of disguise. Catching sight of these petite and well-camouflaged fish can be extremely rewarding for divers.

Although macro life can be found anywhere, we have particular sites where we can pretty much guarantee a find.

MAFTAHA Reef

This site is known especially for its huge pinnacle with schools of glassfish. All around them, ambush predators such as Bearded Scorpionfish, Leaffish or Stonefish are waiting for their time to hunt. Also Moray-eels, red Snappers and even Groupers are coming above and use it as a cleaning station. Cleaner-wrasses, different kinds of Hinge-Beak and Cleaner shrimps are always ready to give a quick scrub. Other common residents to the area include multiple Nudibranchs and Flatworms.

GALU Reef

Yet another fantastic macro site! Located around what we call the ‘Cleaning Station,’ is the Lindas Flatworm-one of the most beautiful flatworms of all. For those with an eye for macro fish can easily spot the Hermit crabs, Leaf fish, and Scorpion Fish located along the base of our cleaning station. Galu is a site known for the slightly rarer fish such as the Paddled Flap Scorpion Fish, Weedy scorpionfish and Dragon Eels. It’s not often we find the incredible species, so take your time to admire their beauty.

KINONDO Reef

As an underwater peninsula, Kinondo is a huge dive site where macro-life shares space with bigger fish. Offering beautiful coral formations, sand patches, small caves and a nice drop-off, macro lovers will be delighted to find different kinds of Flatworms and Nudibranchs, blue Tang hiding in Acropora, Dragonnets, Sandperch, periclimenes or squat Shrimps and of course all kind of Scorpenidae.

Once again, the creatures of lesser stature can be found at every dive site. It requires a certain kind of eye and patience to find them. For those interested in macro photography, pop on over to these sites in particular and let us know what you find!

Dive Site of the Month – Igloo Reef

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A few years ago, we attempted to create an underwater ‘bubble.’ A bubble that was planned for divers to swim inside and take a quick breath. Unfortunately, the physics behind it all, was completely miss-calculated and the project ended up as a failed one.

None the less, Igloo is bustling with macro life. It is one of our top macro sites and has been nominated as dive site of the month due to its new residents-the Weedy Scorpionfish. Alongside the Weedy, our divers have had some incredible encounters with swarms of harmless jelly fish and on the odd occasion, dolphins.

The Weedy Scorpionfish are classified as rare because of their camouflage abilities. They are covered in weed-like appendages, tentacles on the nose and our covered in skin flaps. They belong to the family of Scorpaenidaes. These creatures are usually found south of our mooring line and we tend to spot a maximum of three at a time. Usually, where there is one, there is always another…
For those who wish to know what else can be found at this magnificent site, please check the video below.

Enriched Air Diving: nitrox with Diving the Crab

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Nitrox has become the new trend for divers. It gives them the opportunity to extend their bottom time and due to the higher percentage of oxygen, reduces the risk of decompression sickness. Nitrox offers just the ticket with the chance to lengthen and enhance your diving experience.

Diving the Crab has been diving with Nitrox for over 15 years and we are the only centre in Kenya that provides Nitrox dives and certification. Not only that, but we provide you with the opportunity to combine the Enriched Air Nitrox Course with another, at a cheaper price. Those packages are as follows:

    Open Water Diver + Enriched Air Nitrox
    Advanced Open Water + Enriched Air Nitrox
    Open Water Diver + Advanced Open Water + Enriched Air Nitrox

Longer bottom time, shorter surface intervals, less chance of feeling fatigued… what more could you want to make your time in Kenya’s incredible underwater world even more enjoyable?

What’s more, certified Nitrox divers can use Nitrox free of charge, only at Diving the Crab! Book now and come dive with us!

Dolphins in Diani Beach

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Recently we have had some incredible dolphin sightings from the boat and underwater, which gives us the perfect opportunity to tell you all about these amazing creatures-the most common being the Bottlenose followed by Humpback and Spinner dolphins.

Did you know that dolphins have two stomachs or that they give themselves names? It has been scientifically proven that they develop and create their own individual whistles, which are recognised by themselves and many other dolphins.

When it comes to protecting themselves from predators, they will only rest half their brains whilst the other is high on alert. Dolphins need an average of 8 hours of sleep-4 hours for the right side of their brain and another 4 hours for the left side of their brain. The side of the brain that is awake keeps one eye open to ensure the pod is still around and no predators are lurking.

In Diani, Bottlenose dolphins are regularly spotted on the surface, usually found during the diver’s surface interval. It is always such a treat to site them, especially when it all fun and games racing the dive boats.

Discover Whaleshark Migration Dive on 25th February

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The season is here!

It’s that time of year again where we can find the largest fish in the ocean. Join us for 2 Discover Dives to learn about these amazing creatures. Aboard our boat will be a Marine Biologist to assist you with information about their migratory patterns, behaviours you may see, and how you can successfully identify them as individuals.

So what are Diving the Crab’s Discover Dives?

Every 2 weeks, the Marine Education Centre’s Marine Biologist will accompany us on board our boat. During the surface interval they will tell us more about the amazing creatures found within our coastal ecosystems and the ocean as we know, the heart of the planet, covering 71% of its surface, and encompassing 90% of living space for all life!

Just last week on Valentine’s day we had the ‘Discover Underwater Romance Dive’ during which we learnt about the fascinating relationships between species and how they can be mutually beneficial to one another. Dive guides were then able to point out the underwater couples during their second dive for divers to witness these incredible behaviours themselves.

We can never guarantee sightings, although it is the season for them, it is just a matter of keeping our fingers crossed. However, this is the perfect opportunity to learn more about the biggest fish in the sea, so grab your dive gear, grab your cameras and pop on down to join us on 25th February for 2 adventurous dives.

Use this as an opportunity to expand your knowledge and any questions you have will happily be answered by our Marine Biologist.

Feel free to follow us on Facebook: Diving The Crab
or even Instagram: divingthecrab for future updates.

Next Discover Dive: Discover Coral Dive on 10th March.

Underwater Photography with Diving the Crab

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Do your underwater images come out too green or too red? Do you find it’s such a struggle to capture a clear image of moving fish life using the automatic settings? Are you comfortable with your buoyancy whilst holding a camera, or do you find yourself sinking (or floating away) every time you stop to take a photo?

For those who struggle with underwater photography, or just want to learn more about the discipline, Diving the Crab’s Digital Underwater Photography Course is the perfect way to improve your skills. We all want to be able to capture those memories as pictures are worth a thousand words, and our course can help you do just that.

During your time, you will learn the following:

  • How to set up your camera before embarking on a dive.
  • Why you should move off of automatic and onto manual mode.
  • Camera settings, and how, and why, to change them.
  • What is White Balance and why you need it underwater?
  • Image composition
  • Perfect buoyancy control

To join this course, you will need to have your own personal digital underwater camera as well as be a certified diver. Previous photography experience is not needed – whether you are professional or a novice, this course works great for all.

For more information, please feel free to contact us via diving@divingthecrab.com.

Why you should choose a Combo Dive Package from Diving the Crab

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The only way to improve your knowledge and skills is to just get out there and go for it. Combining these courses gives you a wider understanding, more experience and the opportunity to find out what kind of diving you truly enjoy.

  • Open Water Diver + Advanced Open Water
  • Open Water Diver + Enriched Air Nitrox
  • Advanced Open Water + Enriched Air Nitrox
  • Open Water Diver + Advanced Open Water + Enriched Air Nitrox

It all begins with the Open Water Diver. Why not slip in the advanced after the Open Water or even the Enriched Air Nitrox? Aside from the obvious fact that they are cheaper once combined, but the Advanced Course allows you to go deeper and experience a whole new world with caves, wrecks and various others. It contains several speciality courses such as Photography, Fish ID, Search and Recovery etc.

The Enriched Air Nitrox, on the other hand, is a major draw for divers as it increases dive times, allowing for longer dives and a reduction in risk of getting decompression sickness. If you’d like to make your time in Kenya’s incredible underwater world even more enjoyable, Nitrox offers just the ticket with the chance to lengthen and enhance your diving experience.

All packages are available at Diving the Crab. If you wish to receive more information, please contact us right here at diving@divingthecrab.com.